A UAE solar car made by a 23 years old engineering student from Abu Dhabi recently won the worldwide Total Campus Challenge: Make Things Better. The competition was sponsored by French oil company Total.
Shihab Mohammad bin Solaiman is a Bangladeshi student studying at Petroleum Institute in Abu Dhabi. The youngster presented a solar and hybrid car at the competition. The hybrid has a fuel economy of 150 miles per gallon. The solar is capable of charging on the go and can reach a max speed of 140 km per hour. In the absence of sunlight, the car can run up to four hours on battery power.
Shihab feels passionate about the project for which he was the mechanical lead. In 2015, his team won second place in the Abu Dhabi Solar Challenge. Shihab’s team was competing with 14 other international teams. Earlier this year, they were also placed second in the Global Hybrid Challenge held for the Middle East and North Africa region.
The UAE solar car was fully assembled here. The technology used is not in production at the moment and is expensive to manufacture. The body is made from carbon fibre to keep the vehicle lightweight and the aerodynamic design helps with stability. For now, the car can only accommodate a driver and no passengers.
The prize for the Total Campus Challenge is a fully funded trip for a conference in South Korea.